Dance for Me
by OliviaAR99
Summary: The pull of the crowd beckoned for her to perform. The pull of her friends called for her to dance...and the appearance of...him...threatened her ability to do anything but run away in fear, but Arnold wasn't having it...not this time.


"_**Dance For Me"**_

"I can't do this, Pheebs…I can't!"

"Helga, I'm here to inform you that your sister is out in the audience waiting to see you perform, and frankly, so am I! Don't panic, you're going to be fine, I promise!"

"Damn it, Phoebe! I can't believe I'm doing this! After _years _of learning the proper techniques and stretches and learning to dance on Pointe, it's opening night and I'm scared shitless! Crimeny!"

Helga G. Pataki stood backstage in her dressing room near her vanity mirror while her best friend since grade school lingered near the door. Phoebe, a beautiful and petite nineteen year old Asian woman, regarded her lifelong friend with concerned brown eyes hidden behind stylish glasses. "Please, Helga…I know this is all very overwhelming, but you've earned this night! You were granted one of the most coveted roles for this ballet and I am _not _going to stand by and watch you ruin this for yourself!" Phoebe stormed over in her black halter dress and three inch black pumps toward the shaking blonde and grabbed for Helga's hunched shoulders, forcing her to turn in her ruby red Pointe shoes. "It's not like you to be afraid of anything Helga! Why are you so afraid of dancing in front of an audience? You've been in all four high school plays, been filmed for a major TV show, was put on several hundred magazine covers as the new IT girl, and _now _you choose to be afraid of the attention?"

Helga sighed heavily and looked her friend dead in the eye. "It's not just the audience that scares me, Pheebs…it's _him._"

Phoebe blinked in confusion for the umpteenth time that evening and tilted her head to the side while raising a questionable eyebrow. "You're ballet teacher? Your father? Who, Helga?"

Helga's face flamed, hoping that the rouge in her cheeks gave her friend some small clue that the _him _she had been referring to was none other than _ice cream_. "Just forget it, Pheebs. You'll probably see him out there with the rest of our friends somewhere near Olga."

"Helga, you are not making any sense at all to me, and that is a feat that not a lot of people can really do."

The blue eyed blonde sighed heavily a second time and smiled weakly. "I promise, you'll get it eventually." Helga looked away from her best friends propping stare and glanced down at her evening attire. The outfit of choice for her solo was a clingy leotard in a dazzling shade of ruby red with a dusting of shimmering gold sequins, heavy at the base of her shear wrap skirt which faded beautifully upward toward her slim waist. At her shoulders, her spaghetti straps broke up at each side into four individual straps that crisscross on her back, accentuating the delicate fare skin that rested beneath it, while her front was covered by a high v-neck that only allowed a slight hint of her cleavage. With no stray thread to be seen, Helga smiled proudly to herself. What no one knew was that she had actually designed this garment herself with the help of her company's tailor to do the sewing. Technically, she could have sewn it herself, but she needed all the time she could get to practice her routine.

Helga froze. _My routine? Oh my god! I'm about to perform in front of three hundred people!_ Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she looked up from her clothes to stare at Phoebe. _And one of them is…Arnold! Curse my unyielding want for his approval! I shouldn't have sent out that anonymous invitation! Now he's probably thinking that _Lila_ sent it to him and he is going to be more focused on her…oh damn these tears that prickle at the corner of my eyes. Who am I kidding? He would never come here to see me. I mean, hey, him and Lila ended two years ago but they are still good friends…maybe he will be interested in my performance…GAH! Enough, Pataki! Stop kidding yourself, he is only here because Lila probably invited him too, damn it. _

_ Oh well…at least I'm friends with Miss Goody-Two-Shoes too. Otherwise, I'd have to snap her little throat. _

"Hey, Phoebe?"

"Are you alright, Helga? Do I need to fetch Olga for you?" The concern in her voice was evident, regardless of the strong look that was being forced onto her face by sheer determination.

Helga snorted her fake distaste for her older sister. "No, I do not need _Olga._ I need you to go run and sit down now, the lights flickering means the show is about to start." The nervous blonde pointed upward to prove her point.

Phoebe's eyes followed and she sighed on her way back to her friends face. "Alright, Helga. Now, are you _sure _you are okay? I can stay back here to keep you company if you require it."

"No, Pheebs, I'm good. Just go and keep Olga company and say hi to the gang for me, would ya?"

Phoebe smiled kindly and nodded. "Sure thing."

Helga returned the smile with one that clearly didn't reach her eyes. She was too nervous to be sincere. "Ok, ok, now move it or lose it, sister! I've gotta dance my ass off tonight and you're making me nervous!"

Phoebe giggled, knowing full well that Helga was just faking the irritation for her sake. "Going!" With that, she turned on her heals and dashed out of the room before Helga could say another word, leaving the poor blonde in a state of shock.

As Helga's dressing room door closed, she turned to face herself in the mirror and snorted in disgust at the look of fear in her own reflection. _Look at you, Pataki. Scared of a guy…and three hundred other people who will be watching you either work your magic or fall flat on your face. Damn it, I'm psyching myself out and I haven't even danced yet. _Helga rolled her eyes and willed her pounding heart to cease its relentless ache as she moved to sit at her vanity. Everything dealing with her outfit was in place as it should be, but the finishing touches on her makeup needed to be applied right before her performance to ensure as close to perfection as possible. Even her hair needed to be securely trapped with her flaming butterfly clip.

With a steady hand, and having successfully thrust all nerves from her body for the time being, Helga gracefully added her Swarovski crystals to the corners of her eyes to enhance the idea of fire and accentuate the red, orange and gold eye shadow. Each flicker of light caught one of the shimmering crystals and set her eyes aflame, which was enough to get the attention of even the dimmest stars in the sky if she had been scheduled to dance beneath the night, and as soon as those were generously placed, Helga moved swiftly to apply the smaller crystals to her naked shoulders to finish the effect.

After several minutes of preparation, and a subtle signal from the lighting crew who had flickered the lights a second time indicating that it was time to go on, Helga closed her eyes and breathed deep. _Alright, Helga. This is what you trained for. _She opened her eyes, and looked at the clock on the back wall. Taking note of the time, which read 7:00 PM, she released the breath that she was holding to flush out all of her negative energy, and rose from her seat to head for the door. _In just twenty minutes, I'll be out on stage. I hope Lila remembered her ice crystals, and I hope she doesn't screw up her fouette turns! We don't need another sprained ankle and I don't need any more attention to achieve perfection after a screw up. Gah! I'm just glad Ice goes before Fire. _

Opening her dressing room door, the now calm blonde nineteen year old stepped out into the vacant hallway and tried _really _hard to maintain her grace while she hurried her way out toward the back of the stage. With ruby red Pointe shoes properly broken in and pinching, Helga rounded the final corner that would have lead to her intended destination, but found herself connecting roughing into the chest of a much taller, stronger person that wrapped her in a protective embrace that kept her from being thrown backward onto the floor. "Ah!" She cried out more in shock than pain. "Hey! Watch where you're going, you big…oh…no…no, no, no!" She froze.

Helga's eyes widened considerably during the span of a few seconds as she looked up from the neck that her face had collided with, but not before she got a good whiff of the intoxicating cologne that seemed to seep into every hormone triggering sensor of her nose, making her momentarily swoon. As she took in the familiar face that lingered only inches away, her steady beating heart quickening its paces and resuming its rapid pounding like it had done while she was being spoken to by Phoebe. Emerald green eyes gazed down in curious wonder into her own deep blue, making Helga flush deeply beneath her stage make up. "_This. Is. Not. Happening_." She whispered, horrified by her new predicament.

The green eyed male smiled the sweetest smile he possessed. "Hey, Helga."

Helga groaned in irritation but secretly melted on the inside at the sound of the familiar husky voice. She gulped. "What are you doing here, Arnold?" She asked as calmly as possible given the current circumstances. If anything, she was more afraid of _him, _than the three hundred plus people sitting out in the audience watching Lila at the moment. It also didn't help that Arnold's arms were still wrapped securely around her upper body, and gave no indication of letting go any time soon.

Arnold simply kept on smiling as if unaffected by the tone of obvious fear in Helga's voice. "Gerald and I were taking our seats when Phoebe came in to sit next to your sister. She told me that you asked to see me?"

Helga narrowed her eyes in confusion. _I didn't ask to see…_Her eyes widened in realization. _Why that little…Phoebe, how could you do this to me? What am I supposed to say? Holy cow! I'll kill her! But how to get out of this…hmm…_ "Um…yeah, I did. Uh…I…um…wondered what you thought of the posters outside near the marquee."

Arnold frowned and raised an eye brow in question.

Helga cringed internally. "I know how much you love art and I know you're taking an arts class in college, and I wanted your honest opinion…you know cuz I um…I painted them myself…" In truth, she did, but she really couldn't care less of his opinion about them. Painting wasn't her favorite past time, but she was quite skilled at it and her instructors roped her into making posters for the show by paying her for the labor.

Regarding her with still confused eyes that blinked questioningly, Arnold loosened his embrace and stepped back from the blonde female. "How did you know I was taking an art class?"

"You told Gerald. Gerald told Phoebe. Phoebe told me like I thought it was supposed to be interesting." Helga rolled her eyes and tried to play it up like she still sort of disliked him. Of course, she had stopped bullying in grade school, but for some reason, couldn't shake the habit of treating him like he was still a disgusting insect in his presence until well into high school, while still maintaining her secret love for him. Although, truthfully, it wasn't that much of a secret since she had spilled the beans when they were nine, but thankfully, Arnold took her 'in the moment' excuse and let the whole incident go as if it never happened. But still, there were subtle hints that the football head was catching on to her hidden feelings ever time she had done something to him in a bullying fashion, like watching her out of the corner of his eye suspiciously with a slow growing smirk, or rolling his eyes with a knowing smile before resuming his business.

Returning to the present situation, Arnold, again, cocked an eye brow at Helga and shrugged. "Whatever you say." He turned his head in the direction of the stage and caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar red head dancing in an ice blue costume and covered with several shades of blue crystals. Arnold shook his head and smiled as he realized that his ex girlfriend was dancing. "I didn't know Lila was in this show."

Helga rolled her eyes again and smiled sweetly and out of character. "Yeah, she's the ice to my fire, football head." She stepped back and indicated in toward the direction of her clothing.

The towering blonde male turned back to take his fill of Helga's attire and was momentarily stunned. Arnold had not realized that she was also in the show. He had only assumed that she might have been part of the stage crew, but was now taken aback by the sudden reality. His emerald eyes lit up with his own fire, which Helga did not fail to notice. "Wow…you look…_beautiful_, Helga." He, also, did not fail to notice the blush that crept its way onto the blonde female's cheeks.

"_HUH?"_ Helga's mouth dropped open and internally cursed herself for letting her guard down. "I'm not…I mean, I'm only dressed for the performance, Arnold. I'm not beautiful! Not normally, anyway…" _Shut up! You sound like an idiot, Pataki!_

"Stop that! You _are _beautiful, whether you think so or not." Arnold took a step toward her and blinked in surprise at the started gasp that met his ears.

Helga's heart, if at all possible, stopped at Arnold's words, and she nearly collapsed at his sudden close proximity. Her mind reeled from the severity in his voice, as if he truly meant what he had spoken. In an attempt to take back control of the scene, Helga jumped backward and giggled stupidly. "Sure, whatever you say, football head. So…um…the posters! What did you think of my posters?"

Arnold's emerald orbs narrowed in Helga's direction as he was slowly beginning to see why Phoebe had sent him back here. "I thought they were done by a professional, to be honest. Very interesting use of fairy tales laced with the power of darkness and light."

Helga beamed. "Wonderful! So you caught the theme of tonight's ballet! Transition from innocence to the wickedly intoxicating pull of darkness. There are twelve parts to the performances, and Lila and I are the first. She is portraying the Princess of Ice, all innocent and sweet, and she is being tempted by the seductive Prince of Darkness to join him in his home of fire. I, on the other hand, am the Princess of Fire, being seduced by the Prince of Light. All of the scenes you'll see tonight are fairy tale based, but not the average everyday ones that are seen in Disney movies. No, we actually wrote our own fairy tales and incorporated them into ballet." Helga looked down at herself and cringed as she realized just how form fitting her costume was. Feeling a sudden need to hide, she dropped her gaze and sighed. "Well…anyway, I'd better go and take my place…" She moved to pass Arnold, who was watching her curiously, but stopped herself as another realization dawned on her.

_Three hundred people…_

That was it.

Now she was terrified and she nearly choked on her fear. "Oh my god…_oh my god!_"

Arnold, who was about to move and head back to the auditorium, stopped and turned back to the now frozen blonde and tilted his head to one side. "What's wrong, Helga?" He was not awarded a response. Instead, Helga stayed silent while taking a few timid steps backward…away from the stage. "Helga?" Arnold asked again as he moved toward her.

Still no response.

Instead, Helga did a complete 180 degree turn and moved to bolt.

Arnold, catching on quickly to Helga's intention, dove forward and wrapped his arms around her for the second time that evening before she had a chance to even take a step. "No, you don't!"

"No! I can't do it! I can't…oh my god! All of those people! I can't!" Helga was clawing at the sleeves of his solid white dress shirt, trying desperately to pry herself free, but Arnold proved much stronger than she had given him credit for. "Let go! Please, no!"

Helga was not known for her fear, which took Arnold completely by surprise…but not enough to make him let go. "What the hell? Helga, are you nuts? This is a big night for you! You want to ruin it because you have a little stage fright? This isn't like you!"

"What do you know? You're one of the reasons I'm trying to run!"

Arnold's jaw dropped and his emerald eyes widened in confusion. "What? Why?"

Helga twisted in his arms to face him. "Duh! You're one of the people out in the audience! All of those people…!"

That was a lie, and they both knew it, but Arnold wasn't stupid enough to call her on it. "Should I leave? Will that make you feel better? I mean…I was invited via personal invitation just like Phoebe and Gerald and the rest of the guys, but if it will help you dance…I'll leave…"

"Damn it, Arnold. I _know _you were invited because _I'm _the one that invited you and everyone else! Nobody was supposed to know it was me that invited everyone because I wanted it to be a surprise…but I can't do it! I can't! _So many people…"_ Helga moaned the last sentence and sagged helplessly in Arnold's arms, and then stiffened when she felt the heat of his body through his dress shirt and her costume. Cheeks flaming, she placed her hands, palms open, on his chest and pushed against him to free herself. "Let go of me! I need to get out of here!"

Arnold sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, but refused to release her. Instead, he did the most ungentlemanly thing he could have ever done and scooped Helga up into his arms, then proceeded to carry her bridal style toward the stage.

Helga sucked in a sharp breath and clung tightly to Arnold's well muscled shoulders after she found herself off of her feet. "_Arnold, no!" _She whispered furiously and thrashed violently as they neared stage right. Pushing away from the vicinity of Arnold's neck, she peered up and was momentarily ensnared by penetrating emerald eyes that caused her to halt all attempts of escape. The pounding of her heart, she soon figured out, was not being caused by the hidden audience, but was now reacting to the look she was being given by her secret addiction.

Arnold, not caring that he might suffer severe bruising or possible broken limbs for his sudden actions towards the most volatile female he had ever known, set Helga down on her feet but kept her locked in his gaze. "_I want to see you dance, Helga. And if I have to _make_ you go out on that stage, I will. Now that I know who invited me here, I want to enjoy the show, and I can't do that if my reason for being here is too afraid of an audience no bigger than the audience of Romeo and Juliet!"_

Helga was horrified. "_That was a friken play, football head! This is a ballet! This is something that nobody has ever seen me do before!"_

Arnold thought for a moment and then smirked. _"Do you have to kiss someone during your dance?"_

Helga recoiled from the direction of the conversation and her face flamed. "_…Yes."_

"_Then you should be fine, Helga."_

_ "The hell does _that _have to do with anything?"_

Arnold shrugged his shoulders. _"You seem to hold your own just fine when you have someone to kiss when it comes to acting…how is a ballet any different?"_

Before Helga could filter her next words, they had already escaped her lips and could not be taken back. "_Because _you're _not the one I'm kissing this time!"_ Her mouth dropped slowly and her eyes widened as her own words registered in her brain. _I can't believe I just said that…_ She dropped Arnold's stunned stare and was suddenly very fascinated with the floor. "_I-I mean…um…I was just so….comfortable with kissing you because we had done it so many times that…what I mean to say is that you…I…oh god…"_

It's not like Arnold was surprised to hear it. He had, of course had a similar conversation that had dealt with a 'secret' that Helga had let him in on a few years ago when they were in fourth grade, which resulted in the blonde female denying it after the fact. But what Helga didn't know was that he had kept a close eye on her after her little slip of the tongue, and suspected that she had lied her way out of an awkward situation to avoid any future questions he might have had about it. Fortunately for him, _this _time, he wasn't going to feed her a possible escape route. "_So you're saying that…_I'm _the reason you weren't afraid of performing in front of an audience because you could kiss me, but now you're scared because you have to kiss someone _other _than me?"_

"_Arnold…" _Helga moaned softly, mortified by her stupidity. She kept her eyes trained on the floor.

Arnold had other plans for them. He hooked his right hand beneath Helga's chin and lifted her face upward, forcing her to look him in the eye. "_Look at me…" _He commanded with such authority that Helga didn't dare fight him, and he took the chance to hook his left arm around her waist to bring her closer.

His hushed tone sent tingles over ever naked surface of her skin, making her tremble. She suddenly felt very vulnerable. "_Please…Don't make me do this, Arnold…"_

_ "You're not afraid of the audience, Helga…you're afraid of me." _The news took him by surprise more so because Helga was not denying it. "_Should I kiss you?"_

_ "What?"_ Helga gasped loudly and pushed against his chest again in terror. _No! He can't be serious!_

But Arnold was indeed serious as he yanked her back up against him and curled his right hand behind the back of her neck to keep her face up and angled near his as he regarded her with pools of heated emerald. _"If that's what it takes to make you dance, then I'm going to kiss you until it's time for you to go on."_He paused to take in Helga's look of both disbelief and fear, but continued when he noticed a small flicker or desire lingering in the depths of her deep blue eyes. "_And when your dance ends…I'll be waiting to catch you and kiss you again until you're no longer afraid of me or the audience."_

Without a second thought, Arnold leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

Liquid fire pooled in her most secret of places, and the heat of it sizzled through her blood stream, coursed through every available vein in her body and lingered cruelly beneath the surface of the skin at her lips, making her crave more…but Arnold refused to release her neck.

Instead, he controlled the inferno, and enjoyed the urgent whimpering sounds coming from Helga's throat. Arnold smirked wickedly as he pulled back from her and drank in how beautiful the woman in his arms looked, all flushed with desire…eyes closed and lips parted waiting and wanting. He took pity and leaned forward again, only this time, he took advantage of her parted lips and slipped his tongue inside to explore the mouth that ignited every boyhood fantasy he had ever imagined since his very first kiss was taken from him…by her.

He pulled back again before Helga grew accustomed to the delicious taste of him, and she trembled when she opened her eyes and was captured by his beautiful orbs once again. _"Are you going to dance for me?"_ He whispered.

Helga nodded dumbly, still shocked by the reality of his kiss. _"…yes…"_

"_Just imagine it's me on stage with you when you share your lips with your partner, and you'll be fine."_Arnold pulled her in for another kiss and this time, refused to break away until Lila's music faded in the background and the roar of applause snapped his concentration.

Helga gasped for air once Arnold liberated her swollen mouth and nearly begged for his return as he retreated a step back, giving her room to process his choice of action. 'Dance for me', he mouthed as he motioned her to head for the stage.

She was nervous, alright…but for an entirely different reason now. '_I'll be waiting to catch you and kiss you again until you're no longer afraid of me or the audience.' _Arnold's words lingered in her brain as she turned to face the stage from behind the curtain. _What the hell just happened? _

Before Helga could study her situation further, her music flared in the background and the fire lights flickered, beckoning her to accept her fate. Any chance of running would send her straight into Arnold's arms, which technically didn't seem like such a bad option in Helga's personal opinion, but that would leave her with an empty space in the center of her chest. The space that she had cleared specifically for tonight and everything she had riding on it. Her happiness for accomplishing something so spectacular that her friends and enemies would be talking about it for years, and adoration from her older sister, best friend, and the one guy she had loved for most of her life. _No…I will not run now. I need to do this…for me…_Helga glanced over her shoulder and shivered excitedly as she caught Arnold's eye. _For him…_

Turning back to face the stage, Helga let out a sigh that released all of her nerves, blocked out the sounds of the expectant audience and took position. Without further hesitation, she rose up on her toes and twirled her way out from behind the curtain, allowing the flames to transform her into a ballerina on a mission.

Her music stopped as expected and so did she. Focusing her eyes on the shadow of the audience, Helga took her next position and waited for the music to fill her soul with the urge to dance. And then she moved with a grace that no one had seen her posses as if she had been doing it her whole life.

An orange glow caught her eyes perfectly as she opened them to embrace the audience with outstretched arms and smiled seductively as the soft footfalls of her partner echoed behind her. In one fluid motion, she lifted her right hand straight into the air and dropped it slowly as she slid down to the floor in a deep curtsy and then twisted out of reach from the Light as it attempted to capture her. _Run!_ She yelled to herself, and Helga darted for the coals up stage, which were set alight by the dimly lit backdrop. Fire blazed freely behind the thin sheet of white, and she swirled about them seductively in an attempt to lure the Light with her shimmering body.

But he was too smart for her and managed to submerge behind a large boulder up stage. Helga whipped her head around in search of him as she stopped mid twirl and pressed edged herself against her coals, then dared step cautiously out from behind them.

Light appeared once again, only this time, he was coming for her. The lighting crew flashed down on Helga's partner with a blinding white light, which forced her to shield her eyes for a moment as she got use to its brightness, then took a few more steps forward and ducked, once again out of Light's grasp. They soon mimicked each other's movements, almost touching, but not quite, and Helga dropped to the ground, successfully evading capture once again, the rose back up to her feet and threw herself into a leap that sent her nearly five feet from her previous position…and then the arms looped around her middle. She was caught…_just like with Arnold…_

Helga let out an involuntary gasp of shock and her eyes darted toward the curtain where Arnold was watching her religiously. His eyes scanned her body as she was dragged backward, and he flicked his emerald eyes up to her face and smiled. A rush of heat pooled back down in her most secret of places and she nearly moaned from it as her dance partner released her from his hold. She turned back to face Light and smiled shyly as he held out his hand. _No! _Helga twisted again and lifted back onto her toes and marveled at how freeing it felt to let movement speak the story rather than words.

Light pursued her again, only this time with more aggression and she fought him off with less and less ease. Something was wrong…her flames were becoming easier for him to bypass and nothing he touched in her world made him retreat in pain or fear. Helga tiptoed through her field of fire and gazed around cautiously, trying to evade him…yet there he was again, tall and proud and beckoning her to her fate in his arms. _Oh, the irony…resist!_

Wilting in on herself, she waited until Light had gotten close enough and she leaped once again past him. Grinning in triumph, she twirled with her happiness, and then cried out silently as powerful arms wrapped around her thin waist and hoisted her up off of her feet and found herself writhing in agony as she was bathed in the white hot glow that rivaled even the hottest heat of her own flames.

After being set back down on her toes, Helga collapsed weakly and did not resist as Light knelt down at her side and grasped her limp hand tightly before he yanked her forward up onto her knees. A powerful hand hooked beneath her chin and pulled her forward even more, forcing her to look into deep brown eyes that were questioning. Her partner was more like a less built version of Adonis, sporting short but curly light blonde hair and had the most innocent face she had ever seen. _Damn, Christian's makeup is flawless…alright, the kiss…imagine Arnold! _

Helga nodded shyly, giving Light the permission he required, and shuddered involuntarily as unfamiliar lips pressed into her own while a gentle hand rested against her cheek.

Seconds ticked by before the music ceased…then silence for what felt like hours…then the roar of applause that caused the two dancers to separate. The lights shut down, dressing the couple in darkness and giving them time to resituate themselves, then bathed them in all the lights available for them and they took their bows before the curtain closed and shielded them from the audiences view.

Before Helga had a chance to breathe, she was swooped up into her dance partner's arms and spun around. "Absolutely amazing, darling! Spectacular!"

"Christian, let go! You're hurting my ribs!" Helga squeaked before being set back down on her tender toes. "Thank you, you were great too!"

Christian beamed at her as she stepped away from him and continued. "You look positively radiant tonight with all of your crystals and fire! I almost didn't recognize you! I simply love what you've done with your hair! The butterfly was very subtle until you did your fouette's! Those ribbons coming out of the bun practically set you ablaze with the help of the lighting crew!"

Helga rolled her eyes. _Sometimes I wonder if you could be any more gay than you already are. _"I wonder what you're boyfriend would have to say about you kissing me like that on stage." She wondered aloud, making sure that she sounded as sarcastically as possible. It was all in good fun, seeing as Christian often made fun of her for her lack of boyfriends hanging around.

Christian simply chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Now don't get me started. And what about you? Looks to me like you've got a secret love slave hovering behind the curtain just _waiting _to show you a good time! I wonder what _he _thought about our little make out session?"

Helga giggled like a fool and shrugged, hoping to keep their conversation as limited as possible since she was anxious to run back into Arnold's waiting arms. "He's not my love slave…he's just a close friend of mine."

"_Sure."_Christian raised his eye brows suggestively, making Helga blush the same shade of red as her leotard, earning the male a rather strong shove.

"Alright, I'm gonna go watch the rest of the show and get ready for the finale. You should go do the same!" Helga stated as she turned on her toes and headed back where she came from.

When Helga reached her destination, Arnold was nowhere to be found. Looking around backstage, there wasn't a sign of him anywhere and a sinking feeling in her chest made her momentarily sadden. _But he was…_ "Oh!" Her cry of surprise was drowned out by the music of the next performance, so no one heard her as she was lifted once again off of her feet and spun around.

"_Caught you!" _The familiar male voice sent shivers up and down Helga's entire body and warm breath tickled the back of her neck. "_I knew you could do it, Helga! You were amazing!"_

Arnold's arms slackened so that Helga's back slid down his front on her way to her feet and she twisted around to look into his handsome, beaming face. Helga blushed again deeply, making Arnold's smile turn wicked and knowing. "_Thank you for coming, Arnold…I never would have gone out there if it wasn't for…you…" _Her last word came out in a gasp laced with an edge of wanting as the heat on Arnold's eyes registered in her brain. "_You…you're not really going to kiss me again…are you?"_

Arnold's eyes twinkled in amusement, then narrowed while studying her face. "_And what if I am?"_

Helga gaped stupidly at him before she regained her footing and pushed against his chest to put some space between them. "_Look, I…I'm not afraid of you…I really did have stage fright…"_

_ "I know that…but you were also afraid of me too. Or are, if you pushing away from me is any indication." _

Helga's eyes widened and her hands dropped to her sides in momentary defeat. "_Why do you say things like that?"_

"_Don't you want me to kiss you, Helga?"_

Again, Helga gaped at him, unsure of what to say. _I do! I do! I do!_ But she couldn't admit it to him out of fear of rejection despite the obvious attraction the towering blonde male had for her now that she had admitted a truth that exposed her feelings for him. _I love you, Arnold! Damn it! Kiss me!_ "_I…I need to go get ready for the finale!" _She squeaked as her only reply, and she bolted successfully down the hallway.

_"The finale…" _Arnold followed her toward her dressing room and caught her at the door by the waist, making Helga groan in shock. "…is an hour and a half away and I'm not finished with you, yet." Now that they were away from the stage, he could communicate with her without whispering. "Why do you always run from the things you want, Helga?"

"What makes you think I want you, Arnold?" Again, the blonde female twisted in his arms and faced him head on with a look of pure annoyance.

Arnold smirked, fixing her with his heated gaze. "I wasn't talking about me when I asked you that. I was talking about the stage fright, but it's nice to know where your mind is."

Nothing prepared her for 'the eyes' and Helga's legs buckled beneath her as a bolt of electricity shot through her veins and ignited her secret inferno for the third time that evening. "Damn you, football head!" Exasperated and annoyed, the fiery blonde punched Arnold in the chest, forcing him to lose his breath for a moment, but he refused to let her go.

Instead, he rolled his eyes at her usual way of dealing with scary situations and crushed her to his chest to catch her attention, which surprisingly worked. "_No, Arnold!"_The frazzled blonde moaned weakly as her resolve started to crumble. "_…please don't…"_

"Don't _what, _Helga?"

"_I…I-I can't handle it if you…kiss me again…"_ She whispered and closed her eyes, mortified by her own weakness of his closeness.

"Why is that, you think?"

Helga opened her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath once she realized that Arnold's handsome face was merely inches from her own, waiting for her guard to drop. _"B-because…I'll…I'll…"_

Arnold leaned in a bit closer, his lips just a breath away from hers. "You'll _what, _Helga?"

_"No…"_ She moaned in agony…or was it _yearning?_

"_Tell me…" _Arnold commanded softly.

Helga gulped, becoming fully aware of her predicament and what the next few seconds might bring if she answered him. "…_I'll fall in…love with you…again…"_ She'd never really fallen _out _of love with him, but suspected he never believe her when she denied her love for him the first time.

Arnold held her prisoner in his arms and in his eyes, not giving anything away as he studied Helga's frightened stare. "_Again? I was under the impression that you never stopped."_

Helga lost all feeling in her legs and gave into her shock, but clung to the arms that kept her from dropping to the floor. Her face drained of all color and she stared, wide eyed and open mouthed at the man that was watching her with knowing amusement. _"You…!"_

_ "I'm going to kiss you now…it's up to you to let me…"_ Arnold did not give her a chance to respond as he leaned forward and captured her still parted lips and drank in her moan of defeat.

She clung to him for dear life as he worked her mouth into submission, no longer hell bent on fighting against him and internally quaked with heated longing, which Arnold ignited with a flick of his tongue against hers. His hands hugged her tightly, not sure if he was afraid she'd run again, or desperate to have her closer, but she didn't care until she broke away to breathe. _"Arnold!"What the hell just happened? He just…KISSED me again! And I LET him! "Arnold…what are you doing to me…?"_She asked while clutching fistfuls of his dress shirt and she dropped her head back and closed her eyes in disbelief.

Arnold grinned through his hooded gaze. "I'm bringing out the truth from the woman who has had my heart since preschool._" _He watched her eyes pop open and watched him in disbelief. "Dance with me?"

"What?" Helga blinked up at him, surprised.

"Dance with me…" Only this time, it wasn't a question and he released one of his arms from around her waist and grabbed one of the hands that were busy gripping his shirt. Taking a firm grasp of it, he pried her fingers free from the fabric and proceeded to move fluidly with the distant music from the far away stage.

Helga followed, transfixed by the direction of their situation. "Alright…"

"Helga?"

"Hmm?" Helga never looked away from his emerald green orbs.

"You didn't know Phoebe was going to send me back here, did you?"

Helga bit her bottom lip and blushed. "No, I didn't."

Arnold smiled as he released Helga and made her spin before he pulled her back up against his chest. "I'm glad she did." He admitted truthfully.

Helga dropped her gaze and looked straight into his black silk tie, afraid to show him her weak smile. "_Me too…" _She whispered before she felt a strong hand cup her chin and force her eyes back upward. "_Kiss me again…?"_

The corners of Arnold's mouth lifted into a wicked smirk that heated Helga's blood. "With pleasure." He stated simply before he swooped down and trapped her lips beneath his, making her groan. _About time this happened. _He thought with a silent chuckle to himself.

_**FIN**_

_**Author's Note: **I had deleted this story before so that some of you would stop asking me when I would update. Well, as of right now updating is not going to happen for this story. I much prefer it as a one-shot and I am sick of being hounded. The second chapter has been removed and will not be added on to this story until I have had enough time to write the 3rd and final chapter. You may read and review if you would like, but requesting me to update will not make me write any faster. So for right now, enjoy this as a one shot and thank you to those who were and still are very dedicated to my fanfictions._

_To those who are wondering about my Inuyasha and Labyrinth fanfics, I have just come back from a much needed vacation (yes it did last 2 months and I enjoyed every minute of it to love life). I will be writing new chapters for A Cruel Twist of Fate and Only the Beginning here in the next 2 weeks. Also, I am currently in the process of writing a Star Trek fanfiction that I am rather excited about and I hope that you guys will like it. If not, then go read something else so we can all move on with our lives._

_This fanfic in particular will be dedicated to a coworker and friend of mine who passed away about a week ago due to complications from type 1 Diabetes. She slipped into a diabetic coma while driving home from work and collided with another vehicle. I'd like to spread the word on this debilitating illness because it is very serious and not to be taken lightly. Educate yourselves, guys! This is for you, Kelly!_

_**OliviaAR** _


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